Digital River Taps a New Revenue Stream for Merchants

One of the disadvantages for e-commerce merchants can be the lack of quick and responsive customer support that companies are able to offer in brick-and-mortar stores. While most sites have help sections, the inability to provide immediate answers can lead to customers abandoning your site in favor of a better experience.

As mobile and tablet commerce becomes more prevalent, so does this problem. In an effort to combat it head-on, e-commerce solutions provider Digital River is offering enterprise software publishers a new revenue channel that is deserving of a closer look.

The company’s In-Product Commerce technology enables publishers to embed “digital shopping experiences” inside their applications. Buyers, for example, can purchase an upgrade, renew a subscription or add a new service feature without being forced to leave the product.

The In-Product Commerce solution stores buyers' credentials to make it easy for signing on and checking out. A presentation layer automatically displays the shopping experience inside a variety of digital formats including a download manager, pop-up store window, mobile applications, etc. The platform also supports management of transaction processing in multiple currencies, handles fraud and tax management and supports a range of digital marketing capabilities including coupons, discounts, A/B testing and dynamic personalization.

“With the introduction of the tablet and increasing adoption of smartphones and other connected devices, we are watching consumer expectations and online purchase preferences rapidly evolve,” says Joel Ronning, Digital River’s CEO. “Consumers are looking for unparalleled levels of convenience, connectivity and community – what Digital River calls Transparent Commerce. These expectations are carrying over to the enterprise market and what we are seeing is the consumerization of the enterprise buyer. Enterprise software publishers can easily adapt to these market changes by creating quick and seamless purchase experiences inside their applications – and Digital River’s In-product Commerce can help them accomplish just that.”